Belle, pastor since November 2005 of Holy Trinity-Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, notified the Office of the General Assembly in early May of his intent to seek the post. A vote to endorse his candidacy was scheduled when the Presbytery of Philadelphia met May 25.
“I see Biblical and confessional ‘illiteracy’ as the major obstacles facing our church today,” Belle wrote in a statement on key theological issues. “I hold ministers of the Word and Sacrament directly responsible within the last 20 years for the lack of confessional and polity training to and for our laity. Without an understanding of the Scriptures and their historic linkage to the confessions, the Book of Confessions is difficult to understand.”
The ministry is Belle’s second career. After graduating with a degree in music from the University of North Carolina, he served for 10 years in the U.S. Army band as a pianist, vocalist, auxiliary percussionist, arranger and resident composer. While earning master of divinity and master of church music degrees from Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, he also served as chapel musician and accompanist at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. His interest and participation in music continues through his second career.
Belle is divorced and the father of one teenage daughter.
